A
hero, a villain, and a princess to be saved.
This formula spells out a pure classic,
and it’s exactly what makes The Legend
of Zelda one of the most beloved video game
franchises of all times, and one of the very few
to be over 30 years old.
This March, three decades since his first
adventure in 1986, the green-capped hero Link will
embark on a boundary-breaking journey to rescue
Princess Zelda once again. Only this time, he will
redefine the series entirely. Releasing on Nintendo
Wii U and Switch on 3 March, Breath of the Wild,
the 18th installment of the saga, will have the player
survive the wilderness of an open world in ruins.
The numerous trailers released after years of secrecy
have taken the Internet by storm, raising the hype
among fans with glimpses of the vast kingdom where
the latest story is set, with the treasures and foes
hiding side by side among its peaks and rivers.
The Legend of Zelda is, for many, a solid bet for
the best game series ever. Its fandom counts over
60 million enthusiasts, including the late Robin Williams,
who famously named his daughter Zelda after
the character. So let’s take a look at the video game
that has won the world over, time and again, with its
complex storytelling and constant striving to innovate.2
THE INNOVATIVE STREAK
From bending time through the music of an ocarina to sailing an ocean
covering a flooded world, from streaking across the sky straddling an oversized
bird to frolicking around the dark realm in the guise of a wolf, The Legend of Zelda
isn’t afraid to take risks for the sake of innovation. Every game is conceived
as a whole new experience, with the graphic style, the gameplay and even
the world itself being redesigned from ground up every five years.3
THE TIMELINE
At first, it was a boy wielding a sword to rescue the princess from evil.
Things were simpler back then – or were they? Twenty years and a dozen games
after the first instalment was released, Nintendo unveiled the series’s official timeline,
binding together all the games in a coherent chronology, and guess what?
The first chapter is actually the last one. The timeline, spanning thousands of years
from the creation of the kingdom to its numerous demises, has had gamers cooking
up the most riveting theories for decades now.4
THE SOUNDTRACK
Just like great cinema needs a great score, a great video game must
feature memorable theme music, and Zelda doesn’t disappoint on this front.
Having picked up more than a few Game Critics Awards for its soundtracks,
the franchise’s music earned its reputation as one of those
games that you can just pause and enjoy listening to. On the
occasion of the series’s 25th anniversary, Nintendo organised
a series of concerts around the world for fans to enjoy their
favourite orchestral themes live.5
THE FREEDOM
Meandering around in a seemingly
unconstrained world might be the norm
today, but, back in the 1990s, it was
The Legend of Zelda that brought about
the first instance of a world open to the
player’s explorative needs. Even today,
the series offers unparalleled scope to
delve into the depths of the world’s map,
allowing the player to tackle a specific
plot point from various different angles,
essentially dreaming up their own
gaming experience.LEGEND
A Gaming
1
THE ATMOSPHERE
If you’re a child, the kingdom’s grim, unsettling
atmosphere will make you feel like you’re peeking
into the obscure world of grown-ups; if you’re an adult,
you will rediscover the epic sensation of exploring
a long-lost fairy tale. No matter who you are,
the combination of The Lord of The Ring’s lore
and Japanese mythology seems to be the perfect
ingredient to touch your hidden soft spot.41 April 2017